Objectives

ASU-programme | Objectives | Themes | Cooperation

The research programme proposes to approach the future of living and housing as a substantive entity that comprises environmental issues from sustainable development to land use, logistics and services, and consumer issues from cultural needs through to health issues. Current forms of housing and housing needs have been influenced among other things by changes in family structures and in the workplace, the growth of teleworking, the development of housing prices, urbanization, population ageing, immigration and multiculturalism as well as the increasing number of holiday and second homes.

The goals of ecologically and socially sustainable development have also changed housing and perceptions of good living. Along with these changes, housing planning has become an integral part of environmental planning. On the reverse side of this coin, risks have continued to grow and escalate, instability in the housing markets has increased, the risks associated with the financing of housing have grown, social differences have increased, and poverty and even homelessness have increased.

The emphasis on user-centred housing, aesthetic values and accessibility has raised target standards for housing. At the same time, housing is increasingly impacted by social and cultural factors. People’s housing needs change across the life span, and one group who are bound to assume increasing prominence in the future are active senior citizens. Internationalization and migration are generating new flows of cultural influences, which are reflected for instance in the ways in which housing is becoming part of individual self-expression. Changing housing needs are placing significant challenges most particularly on urban and regional planning, environmental engineering, architecture, housing production and the development of the resident’s position as consumer. Promoting a sense of community in the living environment is also central to the development of modern housing.